Deep incorporation of corn straw benefits soil organic carbon and microbial community composition in a black soil of Northeast China

‘Deep incorporation of corn straw’ (CSDI) is to concentrate the burial of corn straw into the subsurface soil layer (20–40 cm) and to break the plough pan, thereby creating a loosened plough layer (0–20 cm) and a fertile subsurface soil layer. However, its impacts on soil organic carbon (SOC) and the microbial community remain poorly understood. A field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of 1-year CSDI (CD1), 3-year CSDI (CD3) and 5-year CSDI (CD5) on soil aggregates and aggregate-associated SOC, as well as bacterial and fungal community characteristics (examined by the high-throughput gene sequencing method). The results demonstrated that SOC and soil fungal diversity were decreased by CD1, but increased by CD3 and CD5. Compared with the control, CD5 promoted 2–0.25 mm soil macroaggregation, significantly increased SOC by 8.94% and aggregate-associated SOC by 5.96%–8.84%, consequently improving the physical protection of SOC by soil aggregates. CD3 and CD5 enhanced the richness and diversity of soil bacteria and fungi, and altered community composition. For soil bacteria, the relative abundance of Acidobacteria and Chloroflexi was increased, while that of Firmicutes, Gemmatimonadetes, Sphingomonas and Bacillus was decreased. For soil fungi, the relative abundance of Ascomycota, Zygomycota, Mortierella and Fusarium was greatly improved, but that of Basidiomycota was reduced. These obvious variations in microbial community structure were beneficial to straw degradation and SOC accumulation. Overall, the optimization of microbial community with CSDI plays a positive role in promoting soil organic matter, nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration, and thus improving soil fertility.     

南亚热带主要果树冻(寒)害低温指标的确定

根据历史气候和冻(寒)害灾情资料、2007/2008、2008/2009年冬季盆栽移放试验和典型年考察资料,以及冻(寒)害形态学标准,采用数理统计和对比印证方法,对南亚热带主要果树冻(寒)害低温指标进行研究。确定了几种主要南亚热带果树的轻、中、重、严重冻(寒)害低温指标,结果分别为龙眼:-1.5～0℃、-2.5～-1.5℃、-3.5～-2.5℃、<-3.5℃;荔枝:-2.0～0℃、-3.0～-2.0℃、-4.0～-3.0℃、<-4.0℃;香蕉:3.0～5.0℃、1.0～3.0℃、-1.0～1.0℃、<-1.0℃。结果可为果树冻害监测预警及避冻区划提供参考。     

南疆阿拉尔垦区海岛棉耗水规律研究

通过对7个海岛棉品种土壤水分动态变化分析研究,结果表明,不同品种各生育期土壤含水量、土壤蓄水量存在极显著差异。所有品种土壤含水量在不同土层的变化趋势基本一致,呈现出“Z”字型的规律性变化。即随土层深度的增加,土壤含水量逐渐减少,80～100 cm土层土壤含水量又升高。含水量最高的土层是0～20 cm,最低的土层是60～80 cm。这种规律性变化与棉花生长特点、根系的发育特点以及吸收特点有关。534I、Z181、新海21是节水型品种,能够较充分地利用有限的灌溉水,在干旱半干旱地区具有强大的优势。     

Evaluation of bermuda and paspalum grass types for urban landscapes under saline water irrigation

In the arid regions, turfgrass cover is an integral part of landscape to protect the soil from erosion, enhance the aesthetic value, and improve the microclimate. The salinity and the scarcity of fresh water of the arid region are the major challenging factors in turfgrass production. Therefore, the need for salt tolerant turfgrass with functional quality is necessary to improve the turf performance. The detrimental effects of salinity include growth suppression, and lowered osmotic potential ultimately leading to firing of the leaf blades. In this context, the study was undertaken to determine the relative salt tolerance and growth response of turfgrass genotypes in order to recommend turfgrass cultivars that can tolerate high salinity irrigation and maintain excellent visual and functional qualities under United Arab Emirates (UAE) condition. The paspalum cultivars maintained the highest succulence percentage compared to the bermudagrass cultivars under enhanced salinity levels. The shoots count, fresh weight (FW), and dry weight (DW) were found highest in paspalum types. The chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and the total chlorophyll content was found higher in bermuda grass types under high salinity levels. The bermudagrass cultivars showed significantly higher carotenoids, anthocyanins and proline compared to the paspalum types under salt stress condition. In the case of princess 77 and Yukon, an inherently high amount of proline was recorded which confirmed an increase up to 10,000 ppm and drastically declined beyond this concentration. Sea Dwarf paspalum and Sea Isle 2000 maintained uniformity in the proline level at all levels of salinity without significant variation. These findings point to the fact that both paspalum and bermuda types exhibited varied responses to different physiological and biochemical parameters under the saline conditions. Paspalum types have an edge over the bermudagrass in terms of shoot density, which is a potential factor in determining the high-quality turfs. Bermudagrass types can be applied in lower salinity conditions based on the responses as evidenced from the present results.     

暖季型草坪草对高温胁迫的生理响应

以沟叶结缕草(Zoysia matrella)与结缕草(Z.japonica)为材料, 测定了高温胁迫下两种暖季型草坪草叶片主要抗性生理指标的变化, 结果表明: 40 ℃高温处理下, 两种结缕草叶片渗透调节物质(可溶性糖、可溶性蛋白质、脯氨酸)和ABA、GA3、IAA、MDA含量均显著增加, SOD、POD与CAT酶活性都显著增强; 两种结缕草叶片的Chla、Chlb、Car含量以及Chla/Chlb的比值则出现了不同程度的下降.高温下, 沟叶结缕草渗透调节物质的积累量和ABA、GA3、IAA含量的增加均高于结缕草, SOD和CAT活性的增强也大于结缕草, 表现出更强的耐热特性.     

Winter flocking behaviour of speckled warblers and the Allee effect

The aggregation of individuals into foraging flocks is one behavioural trait that, if disrupted, can cause the Allee effect, which is a slowing in population growth at low density or small population size, and this can greatly increase the risk of extinction. Here, I describe intraspecific flocking behaviour of a colour-banded population of speckled warblers, Chthonicola sagittata, a species that has declined across a large part of its range in the fragmented temperate woodlands of Australia. I make predictions about the context in which the Allee effect might be expressed and the consequences for the viability of populations living in small habitat remnants. Speckled warblers lived in discrete, stable social groups throughout winter, the nucleus of which was the residents from one or more adjacent breeding territories. The timing and mode of flock formation and the size of flocks varied between two winters, apparently in response to the severity of conditions; thus flocking probably facilitates increased foraging efficiency and predator detection, potentially leading to increased survival in harsh conditions. Because flock territories were up to 30 ha each, and larger territories are likely, birds living in remnants smaller than 40 ha may suffer increased mortality if there are too few birds available to form flocks of an appropriate size to facilitate the benefits of grouping when conditions are most extreme. Further, in small remnants where survival is reduced, dominance behaviour and male-male competition may act to compound the Allee effect by reducing reproductive success. Regardless of these predictions, speckled warbler populations may only be viable in remnants that are large enough to support multiple flocks, to enable rapid recruitment to breeding vacancies and thus provide adequate numbers of birds for flocking.     

Community structures of Collembola in sugar maple forests: relations to humus type and seasonal trends

Community structures of Collembola and their seasonal fluctuations were studied in eight southern Quebec sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) forests growing on mull, moder and mor humus types. Endogeic species were extracted from soil cores using Berlese-Tullgren funnels while epigeic species were collected using pit-light traps (Luminoc®). Comparisons of species presence, abundance, and dominance among sites and seasons were done using Sorensen's similarity coefficients and CANOCO. A total of 92 species from 7 families and 35 genera were identified. Species dominance and community structure differed according to humus types. Two groups of endogeic species were identified. The mor/mor-moder type group included Folsomia penicula, Hypogastrura (Ceratophysella) spp. Que., Micrisotoma achromata, Onychiurus (Protaphorura)? parvicornis, Onychiurus (Onychiurus) sp. A Que. And Onychiurus (Onychiurus) sp. B Que. The mull/mull-moder type group included Isotoma (Desoria) notabilis, Tullbergia (Tullbergia) silvicola, Tullbergia (Tullbergia) clavata, and Pseudosinella alba. Such clear humus type relationships were not found among the epigeic species, but important seasonal changes in community structures were found for these species. Spring species were Sminthurinus (Katiannina) macgillivrayi, Hypogastrura (Ceratophysella) maheuxi, Hypogastrura (Hypogastrura) sp. A Que. and Sminthurinus (Sminthurinus) latimaculosus. Tomocerus (Pogonognathellus) flavescens, Sminthurinus (Sminthurinus) henshawi, and Orchesella hexfasciata appeared in the summer samples while Dicyrtoma (Dicyrtoma) aurata was found only in fall samples where it was dominant in most sites along with either Sminthurides (Sminthurides) lepus or Sminthurinus (Sminthurinus) quadrimaculatus. No strong seasonal trends were found among the dominant endogeic species.     

T-M水量平衡模型在流域产流计算中的应用

[目的]旨在通过研究流域各月度产水量,对水资源管理和农业灌溉用水调度进行指导。[方法]以锦阳川流域为研究对象,运用遥感(remote sensing,RS)和地理信息系统(geographic information system,GIS)提取和处理空间土地利用、土壤及数字高程模型数据,结合降雨、气温及不同植物的根深数据,采用Thornthwaite and Mather(T—M)模型计算了水分亏缺与剩余,土壤水分补给与利用的周期及月度产流量。[结果]研究区2011年平水年全年总径流量为281.0mm,在1,3—4,6和10月,存在水分亏缺及土壤水分利用,面积加权的水分亏缺值为5.8mm;2月,11—12月降水对土壤水分进行补给;5和7—9月,存在水分剩余,面积加权的剩余值为286.2mm。丰水年(25%)、平水年(50%)和枯水年(75%)多年平均产水量分别为8.3×107,4.8×107及2.2×107 m3。[结论]研究区在丰水年(25%)的2,7—11月,平水年(50%)的2—3,7—9月和枯水年(75%)的12—2,7—9月存在水分剩余。     

Comparison of two methods that assess soil community level physiological profiles in a forest ecosystem

There are currently two approaches that use whole soil to determine community level physiological profiles (CLPP) based on C-substrate utilization. We assessed the Degens and Harris and MicroResp™ approaches for their ability to distinguish between previously mined and non-mined forest soils that are characterized by gradients in biological, chemical and physical properties. Surface soils (0-5 cm) were collected from two ages of forest rehabilitation (3- and 16-years post mining), within mounds and furrows (caused by contour ripping) and from adjacent non-mined forest soil. Microbial respiration response to individual substrates was six times greater from the Degens and Harris (1.84 μg CO₂-C g soil h⁻¹) than the MicroResp™ (0.31 μg CO₂-C g soil h⁻¹) approach. The MicroResp™ approach was able to distinguish between CLPP of the two ages of rehabilitation (P=0.05), whereas the Degens and Harris approach did not. Neither approach identified an overall difference between the CLPP of mined and adjacent non-mined forest. The MicroResp™ approach revealed a significant difference (P=0.03) in CLPP from mounds of the two rehabilitation ages but no differences between the furrows. In addition there was a difference (P=0.03) in CLPP between the mounds and furrows within the 3-year old rehabilitation but no difference between the mounds and furrows within the 16-year-old rehabilitation. However, the CLPP of mounds of the 3-year old rehabilitation were different (P=0.059) to adjacent non-mined forest, while the furrows were not. There was no difference in CLPP between the mounds or the furrows of the 16-year-old rehabilitation and adjacent non-mined forest. These results suggest that the aspect of microbial heterotrophic function measured in this study takes up to 3 years to re-establish in the furrows and between 3-16 years in the mounds of post-mined rehabilitation soils. Our results also indicated that the MicroResp™ was substantially better than the Degens and Harris approach in distinguishing between treatments; this is likely to be due to differences in substrate concentrations and soil water potentials between approaches. Testing of a more comprehensive range of organic compounds would likely provide greater ecological interpretation of the CLPP data.     

Do plant clumps constitute microbial hotspots in semiarid Mediterranean patchy landscapes?

Three semiarid Mediterranean patchy landscapes were investigated to test the existence of a microsite effect (i.e. plant canopy vs. inter-canopy) on soil microbial communities. Surface soil samples were independently taken from both microsites under naturally changing conditions of humidity and temperature through the year. In gypsiferous soils covered with a shrub steppe, improved physical and chemical soil properties were registered underneath the plant canopy, where the densest and most active microbial communities were also detected (e.g. microbial biomass C averaged 531 and 202 mg kg⁻¹ in canopy and inter-canopy areas, respectively). In calcareous perennial tussock grasslands, either growing on soils over limestones or alluvial deposits, the microsite effect was not so marked. Soil humidity, temperature and total organic C were homogeneously distributed over the landscape conditioning their uniform microbial activity under field moisture conditions (ATP content averaged 853 and 885 nmol kg⁻¹ in canopy and intercanopy areas, respectively). However, readily mineralizable C and microbial biomass C were preferentially accumulated in soils underneath the tussocks determining their larger potential microbial activity (e.g. C hydrolysis capacity under optimal conditions). In conclusion, plant clumps either functioned as microbial hotspots where enhanced microbially driven ecosystem processes took place or as microbial banks capable of undergoing a burst of activity under favourable climatic conditions. Our results provide experimental evidence of a non-patchy distribution of certain soil microbial properties in semi-arid Mediterranean patchy ecosystems.